spade

The definition of a spade is a flat-bladed tool used for digging, or a suit of cards marked with an image of an upside down heart such as this image - ♠

An example of a spade is a small metal tool with a wooden handle used in home gardening.

An example of a spade is the mark on a suit of playing cards.

verb

Spade means to dig.

An example of spade is to dig into the ground.

spade

a heavy, flat-bladed, long-handled tool used for digging by pressing the metal blade into the ground with the foot

any of several tools resembling a spade

a part of the trail of a gun carriage which digs into the ground, so as to brace the gun during recoil

Origin of spade

Middle English from Old English spadu, akin to German spaten from Indo-European base an unverified form sp?-, long flat piece of wood from source spoon, Classical Greek spath?, broad blade, paddle of an oar, sword blade

transitive verb

intransitive verb

spad′ed, spad′ing

to dig or cut with or as with a spade

spade Idioms

call a spade a spade

to call something by its right name; use plain, blunt words

any of a suit of playing cards marked with black figures shaped like this: ?

(videogaming) To collect and statistically analyze data, for the purpose of determining the underlying random number generator structure or numeric formula.

Origin

From Old English spadu, spada, from Proto-Germanic. Cognate with Old Frisian spada, Old Saxon spado, German Spaten. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European*sphâ‚‚-dÊ°-, whence also Ancient Greek ÏƒÏ€Î¬Î¸Î· (spathÄ“, “blade"), Hittite iÅ¡patar (“spear") [Cuneiform?].

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.